Revolving door pushbar circuit controller



Feb. 6, 1962 A. M. SIMPSON 3,020,038

REVOLVING DOOR PUSHBAR CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed Aug. 30, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 vIIIIIIIIIIIII'III'IIIIIIIIIIIII.IIIIIIIII/IIII III! I 1111111111,","ll"""""l".

1 5 5 g j .35 J5 Z5 INVENTOR 3 1E 7 WW (SW/30W) BY A r- 6 ATTORN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 6, 1962 A. M. SIMPSON REVOLVING DOOR PUSHBAR CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed Aug. 30, 1957 I M M Feb. 6, 1962 A. M. SIMPSON REVOLVING DOOR PUSHBAR CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed Aug. so, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 W m I U J I. H 1 m W A m 4 Iv P\W 2 A d. fir T 2 w m I "Hh Hih Hldl l fll l l l l I I I I MI W). 3 a 4 a w 9 0 a w a m United States Patent 3,029,058 REVOLVING DOOR PUSHBAR C RCUIT CONTRGLLER Arthur M. Simpson, Evansville, Ind, assignor to International Steel Company, Evansville, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Filed Aug. 30, 195?, Ser. No. 681,288

11 Claims. (Cl. 268!-73) My invention relates broadly to door pushbar mecha nisms and more particularly to a pushbar mechanism and electrical switch assembly for controlling motor driven revolving doors.

My invention is applicable to the class of revolving doorssystems as set forth in my copending application Serial Number 653,917, filed April 9, 1957, for Electrically-Driven Revolving Door System, now abandoned.

.One of the objects of my invention is to provide a revolving door pushbar mechanism for operating an electric switch which controls the condition of rotation or the state of operation or non-operation of an electricallydriven revolving door system.

Another object of my invention is to provide a revolving door pushbar mechanism which is pivoted in two positions in the same plane which are substantially nor? mal to each other.

Another object of my invention is to provide a spring.- loaded revolving door pushbar mechanism for operating an electrical switch witha minimum or applied force.

A further object of my invention is to provide a springloaded, dual pivot, revolving door pushbar of T shape construction to obtain a firmly supported, pivoted pushbar for controlling an electrical circuit.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a dual-hinged, revolving door pushbar mechanism whose construction involves long lever arms and in which the two hinge axes, at right angles to each other, are in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of the load, that is the electrical switch and spring-loading mechanism, opposing the motion of the pushbar.

Other and further objects of my invention are set forth more fully in the specification hereinafter followingby reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a revolving door wing particularly showing the position in which the pushbar assembly of my invention is mounted on the door wing;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the pushbar assembly of my invention, the view being foreshortened in order to illustrate the structure on an enlarged scale in proper proportions;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, foreshortened, top elevational view, partly in horizontal section, taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, foreshortened, side clevational view, partly in vertical section, of the pushbar assembly of my invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed transverse sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

KG. 6 is an enlarged detailed horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 7-7 of FIG. 2;;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detailed horizontal sectional view taken substantially "along line 8-8 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 9- 9 of .FIG. 3; and I FIG. 10 is an overall schematic view of an electricallydriven two-speed revolving door system utilizing the pushbar assemblyof my invention.

My invention is directed to the construction of a push.- bar and electrical switch assembly for revolving doors which are electrically-driven. The pushbar mechanism box .33, friction clutch assembly 34,,anda be1t system. a

3,020,038 Patented Feb. 6, 1962 ICE of my invention is constructed in the shape of a T with a hinged pin assembly at one end of the T cross memher and another at the bottom of the vertical member. The hinged pin assemblies are attached to the inside frame of the door wing and the bottom frame of the wing respectively and support the pushbar mechanism on the wing, allowing it to move in and out with respect to the door wing more freely.

The other end of the T cross member is in contact with a spring-loading mechanism and a spring-loaded electii cal switch which are enclosed in a small housing and mounted on the frame of the door wing behind the pushbar assembly. Part of the housing forms a stop for the pushbar and is engaged by a grooved pushbar member thus holding the pushbar assembly in position and limit? ing the in-and-out travel of the pushbar with respect to the door wing. The travel of the pushbar is very slight and the spring-loading mechanism and electrical switch are mounted so that the slightest pressure on the pushbar by a person using the door will pivot the pushbar toward the door wing on its two pivot points, compressing the spring-loading mechanism and closing the electrical switch, thus completing an electrical control circuit to the motors of the revolving door system. Depending upon the type of revolving door system this operation may start a door revolving from a dead-stop or it may increase the speed of a .door'being initially driven at a lower rate of speed. When the pushbar is released it will return to its original position since the compressed spring-loading mechanism is exerting an outward force on the pushbar, and the electrical circuit to therevolving door control motors will be opened since the springloaded electrical switch will also return to its original position.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, reference character 1 designates the horizontal member of the pushbar assembly, while reference character 2 designates the vertical member of the pushbar assembly. Reference character 3 designates the left channel frame member of revolving door wing assembly 4, as seen in FIG. '1,

while the right, top, and bottom channel frame members are designated by 5, 10 and .6, respectively. The glass in the revolving door is designated by reference character 7. Referring to FIGS/1 and 10 revolving door wing 4 is attached to standard door collapsing mechanisms 17 at cutouts .8 and a contact point assembly 18 for completing the electrical circuit from the door wing to a slip ring assembly 19-on the revolving door center post 20, or other circuit completing assembly, is attached at cutout 9. i Y i The electrical circuit on the door wing consists of micro-switch 21, mounted in housing 22. behind pushbar member l'in such a manner that microeswitch contact head 25 is in physical contact with the pushbar, and wires 23 and 24 which connect the micro-switch with the contact point assembly 18. The contact point assembly corn pletes the series electrical circuit of wires 23, 24 and switch [21 to slip ring assembly 19, and wires from this slip ring assembly through the center of revolving ,door center post 20 complete the circuit to top slip ring as. sembly 26 mounted ontop of the center post above the ceiling line 27- Wires connecting brushes 28 and 29 complete .the electrical circuit from the top slip ring assembly to the motor control circuit housing 3.9. Low speed motor 31 and highspeed motor glare controlled by the circuitry in housing 30. In the normal operating statethe revolving door is driven by low speed motor .31 vthrough gear When micro-switch 21 is closed .by pressure onpushbar member 1 from a person using the revolving door, the circuit to high speed motor 32 is energized and the low speed motor circuit is deenergized. This results in the revolving door being driven at an increased rate of speed while the user passes through the door. I desire that it be understood that this illustration is an example of only one type of revolving door system with which my invention can be associated.

Four pushbar assemblies are required for each revolving door, that is, one pushbar assembly per revolving door wing, as seen in FIG. 10. The arrangements on each wing are symmetrical and the leads from the several microswitchcs are in parallel to the motor control system. For simplicity only one revolving door wing with a pushbar assembly attached has been shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the several drawings, pushbar member 1 is hinged on one end to wing channel member 3 by stationary hinge member 11 and pintle 12, which fits loosely into holes 13 and 14 of stationary hinge member 11 and pushbar member 1, respectively. Pintle 12 is held in place by threaded members 15 sealing the ends of pintle holes 14. Stationary hinge member 11 is fastened in wing channel member 3 by screw 16. The protruding head of stationary hinge member 11 in which pintle hole 13 is located is of greater thickness material than pushbar member 1 so as to allow sufficient clearance, as seen at 35, between channel member 3 and pushbar member 1 so the latter can be pivoted on pintle 12 in the direction of glass 7 without making physical contact with the former. Face 36 of stationary hinge member 11 is beveled inwardly toward wing channel member 3 to prevent binding between this face and face 37 of pushbar member 1 when the pushbar is pivoted in the direction of the glass as described above. Sufficient clearance is provided between the remaining opposite faces of the stationary hinge member 11 and pushbar member 1 to prevent binding between these two members when the pushbar is pivoted.

Stationary hinge member 38 is constructed exactly the same as stationary hinge member 11 previously described and hinges vertical pushbar member 2 to bottom door frame channel member 6 by means of pintle 39. Stationary hinge member 38 is fastened in channel member 6 by screw 40 and pintle 39 is sealed in its pivot hole by threaded members 41. Sufficient clearance is provided between opposite internal faces of stationary hinge member 38 and pushbar member 2, and face 42 of stationary hinge member 38 is beveled inwardly toward the door frame to prevent binding between the stationary hinge member and the pushbar member when the latter is pivoted with respect to the former.

Vertical pushbar member 2 and horizontal pushbar member 1 intersect and join at right angles to each other to form a T shaped construction pushbar assembly which is hinged at the left end of the horizontal member and the bottom of the vertical member, leaving the right end of the horizontal member free to move back and forth within limits in a plane perpendicular with the face of the revolving door wing. Micro-switch 21 is mounted behind the free moving end of pushbar member 1 in such manner that any movement of the hinged pushbar toward the revolving door wing will close the micro-switch electrical circuit. In order to allow sufiicient mounting space for the micro-switch behind the pushbar, pushbar members 1 and 2 from their intersection point to their hinging points are angularly displaced with respect to the face of the revolving door wing as can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

Angle member 43 attached to cylinder member 44 by peaned head protrusion 45 is fastened in wing channel member by cylinder member 44 and screw 46. Angle member 43 forms a mounting base for the micro-switch and pushbar spring-loading assembly as well as one side of the housing enclosing said assembly and the protrusion which is engaged by groove 47 of block 48 to form the limit stop for the pushbar assembly. Since block 48 is fastened to pushbar member 1 and angle member 43 is fastened to door channel member 5, the engagement of angle member 43 in groove 47 of block 48 limits the back and forth movement of the pushbar assembly in a plane perpendicular to the face of the revolving door wing. The limits of the pushbars movement in this plane are determined by the width of groove 47 in block 48 and the material thickness of the protrusion of angle member 43 which is engaged in groove 47.

Threaded spring-loading mechanism 49, which contains spring 50 and movable plunger member 51 is threaded through spacing member 52, angle member 43 and wing channel member 5 and is secured to the same by locknut 53. Spring-loading mechanism 49 is mounted so movable plunger member 51 bears against pushbar member 1 in such a way as to keep spring Sit in a state of slight compression. This has the effect of retaining pushbar member 1 against the limit stop which keeps the pushbar farthest from door channel member 5, thus providing a spring-loaded effect for the pushbar assembly.

Set screw 54 fastens together spacing member 52, angle member 43 and door channel member 5 for more rigid construction. Micro-switch 21, by means of mounting bolts 56, is mounted in micro-switch bracket 55 which is secured to spacing member 52. Wires 23 and 24 are connected to micro-switch 21 through access hole 57 in channel member 5, angle member 43, spacing member 52, and micro-switch bracket 55. The micro-switch is mounted in such manner that spring-loaded micro-switch contact head member 25 bears on the surface of pushbar member 1 when the pushbar is in its limit stop due to its spring-loaded state. When a user approaches the revolving door he pushes or applies pressure to the springloaded pushbar assembly. The pushbar assembly moves toward door channel member 5 in a plane perpendicular to the face of the revolving door wing, moving the pushbar out of its limit stop by breaking the bearing contact between members 43 and 48 and resulting in spring-loading mechanism plunger member 51 being pushed further inside said mechanism, thus further compressing spring 50 and depressing micro-switch contact head member 25. The assembly is constructed so that micro-switch 21 will complete the electrical circuit when pushbar member 1 has moved toward the face of the revolving door Wing a distance approximately in the order of A of an inch.

Since the required movement of the free moving end of pushbar member 1 is only of the order of A of an inch, very little movement will be'realized at pintles 12 and 39 since the lever arms are so long, which are involved between these pivot points as fulcrums, the microswitch and spring-loading mechanism or the load, and the point along pushbar member 1 where the force is applied; since only a slight movement of the pushbar assembly results from a force being applied to it, and since the lever arms involved in the construction are so long with respect to the resulting movement, it is possible to hinge the pushbar assembly on two axes which are at right angles to each other in the same plane without having the pushbar assembly bind on these hinges. Another factor which makes this possible is the clearance which is allowed between pushbar members 1 and 2 and stationary hinge members 11 and 38, respectively.

The micro-switch and spring-loading mechanism are shielded and concealed by housing 22 which is attached to pushbar member 1 by screws 58 and provides a cutout to eliminate interference with plunger member 51 and micro-switch contact head member 25 hearing on the surface of pushbar member 1. Housing 22 is a three-sided member and supplies a top and bottom covering for the micro-switch and spring-loading mechanism.

I have found pushbar assemblies as set forth herein highly practical and the construction of such pushbar mechanisms eflicient and useful. I realize, however, that modifications may be made, and I desire that it be understood that no limitations upon my invention are intended other than may be imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A revolving door pushbar circuit controller for the wing of a revolving door assembly, comprising a displaceable pushbar extending laterally of a revolving door wing and hinged on a vertical pivot adjacent one edge of said wing and terminating in a push-in circuit controller adjacent the other edge of said door wing, a vertically disposed displaceable pushbar hinged on a horizontal pivot adjacent the lower edge of said door wing and connected with the aforesaid pushbar and extending vertically upwardly longitudinally of said door wing intermediate the vertical pivot of said laterally extending pushbar and said push-in circuit controller and displaceable with said laterally extending pushbar whereby inward pressure applied at any position along said vertically disposed pushbar or along said laterally extending pushbar operates said pushin circuit controller.

2, A revolving door pushbar circuit controller as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar extend in directions substantially normal to each other and are integral at the position of connection thereof.

3. A revolving door pushbar circuit controller as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar are arranged in the shape of a T and wherein said circuit controller is substantially aligned with one extremity of the T while the hinged connections between said pushbar and the door wing are located at the other two extremities of the T.

4. A revolving door pushbar circuit controller as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar connect with each other in an off-center position with respect to the center of the door wing with said laterally extending pushbar projecting a shorter distance on one side of said vertically disposed pushbar than on the other side thereof, and wherein said circuit controller is located in alignment with the shorter side of said laterally extending pushbar.

5. A revolving door pushbar circuit controller as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar occupy a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the door wing and wherein the hinged connections are disposed on axes extending substantially at right angles to each other.

6. A revolving door pushbar circuit controller as set 'forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar individually and collectively apply pressure against said push-in circuit controller and wherein said push-in circuit controller includes means for selectively adjusting the pressure at which the displacement of said pushbars effects the operation of said push-in circuit controller.

7. A revolving door assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar individually and collectively apply pressure against said push-in circuit controller and wherein said push-in circuit controller includes means for selectively adjusting the pressure at which the displacement of said pushbars cliects the operation of said push-in circuit controller, said means consisting of a spring-loading mechanism disposed on an substantially parallel with the axis of said push-in circuit controller, and means for adjusting the spring tension in said spring-loading mechanism from a position adjacent the front of said circuit controller.

8. A revolving door assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar individually and collectively apply pressure against said push-in circuit controller and wherein said push-in circuit controller includes means for selectively adjusting the pressure at 6 i which the displacement of said pushbars effects the operas tion of said push-in circuit controller, said means consisting of a spring-loading mechanism disposed on an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said push-in circuit controller, and means for limiting the displacement of said pushbars with respect to said circuit controller and with reference to said spring-loading mechanism.

9. A revolving door assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar individually and collectively apply pressure against said push-in circuit controller and wherein said push-in circuit controller includes means for selectively adjusting the pressure at which the displacement of said pushbars effects the operation of said push-in circuit controller, said means consisting of a spring-loading mechanism disposed on an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said push-in circuit controller, a member carried by said door wing in alignment with said laterally extending pushbar and positioned around said push-in circuit controller and said springloading mechanism, and means carried by said laterally extending pushbar and loosely engaging said member for restricting the displacement of said laterally extending pushbar with respect to said push-in circuit controller and said spring-loading mechanism.

10, A revolving door assembly as set forth inrclairn l in whichlsaid vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar individually and collectively apply pressure against said push-in circuit controller and wherein said push-in circuit controller includes means for selectively adjusting the pressure at which the displacement of said pushbars effects the operation of said push-in circuit controller, said means consisting of a spring-loading mechanism disposed on an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said push-in circuit controller, a member carried by said door wing in alignment with said laterally extending pushbar and extending around said push-in circuit controller and said springloading mechanism, a block carried by said laterally extending pushbar and disposed in overlapping relation to said member, said block being grooved to receive a projecting portion of said member, whereby the opposite ends of the groove in the block serve as abutment stops for restricting the movement of said laterally extending pushbar with respect to said push-in circuit controller and said spring-loading mechanism. a

11. A revolving door assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed displaceable pushbar and said laterally extending pushbar individually and collectively apply pressure against said push-in circuit controller and wherein said push-in circuit controller includes means for selectively adjusting the pressure at which the displacement of said pushbars effects the operation of said push-in circuit controller, said means consisting of a spring-loading mechanism disposed on an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said push-in circuit controller, a member carried by said door wing in alignment with said laterally extending pushbar and around said circuit controller and said spring-loading mechanism, a block carried by said laterally extending pushbar and positioned in overlapping relation to said member, said block being grooved to receive a projecting portion of said mem ber, whereby the opposite ends of the groove in the block serve as abutment stops for restricting the movement of said laterallyextending pushbar with respect to said push-in circuit controller and said spring-loading mechanism, said push-in circuit controller being spring biased toward said laterally extending pushbar and said spring-loading mechanism operating to direct a yielding force toward said laterally extending pushbar for urging said laterally extending pushbar to a position in which one end of the groove in the block carried by said laterally extending pushbar abuts one side of the projecting portion of said member, said laterally extending and vertically disposed pushbars being displaceable about the pivots thereof for overcoming the force exerted by said spring-loading mechanism and efiecting an actuation of said push-in circuit controller when said pushbar is manually displaced to shift the projecting portion of said member to a position in which the opposite end of the groove in the block carried by said laterally extending pushbar abuts with the opposite side of the projecting UNITED STATES PATENTS Flint Apr. 6, 1915 Haviland Sept. 10, 1918 

